21

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Two days after Obon comes to a close, the Gojo entourage finally departs from Kyoto.

It's a good thing that they leave as swiftly as they do, since Shiki has been starting to get a little miffed by the way people keep looking at her. Yes, she knows that she's most likely the youngest dancer who's ever performed the ritual for the final okuribi, but surely it's not that strange!

… Even with the unexpected light show.

Which, admittedly, Shiki hadn't really been paying attention to at the time, as intensely focused as she'd been on the ritual itself.

Iori-san had later mentioned something about the glittering lights that accompanied Shiki's dancing during the ritual being a sign. A rare phenomenon, or something along those lines. Evidently very rare, too, going by all the mixed looks that had been discreetly and not-so-discreetly directed towards Shiki in the aftermath of the ceremony.

Unmistakable awe, quiet reverence. Palpable fear, veiled wariness.

Jealousy.

Greed.

Luckily, that uncomfortable moment had not persisted for too long. Satoru-niichan had promptly swooped in to clap a hand on her shoulder and congratulate her on a job well done, then proceeded to gently but firmly steer her away and out of the spotlight.

And that was that.

Setting aside the weirdly intense, scrutinizing reactions of the attending sorcerers aside, the ritual had been… fun, surprisingly. Shiki honestly hadn't expected to enjoy it as much as she had. She had walked out of the ceremony feeling a lot more calm and relaxed than anyone who'd been dancing nonstop for the better half of an hour really had any right to be. And she had also walked out of it feeling… grounded, for lack of a better descriptor.

Even now, several days later, it's almost like she's somehow more settled in her own skin.

Shiki rolls her shoulders experimentally.

Then fluidly sidesteps her opponent's wild lunge.

"Ha!"

Shiki silently twirls around in an easy spin, building up her own momentum, and lashes out with a swift kick. The blow catches the charging boy directly in his midsection, sending him sprawling into the hard wooden floorboards with a resounding thud.

Megumi-san wheezes incoherently, all air momentarily knocked from his lungs.

"Aaaand that's round five in Shiki's victory!" Satoru-niichan's voice sounds cheerily from the sidelines. "C'mon, Megumi, up you get! Think you've got another five rounds left in you?"

The younger boy's trembling arms buckle sharply at that particular encouragement, nearly causing him to face-plant into the ground again despite his earlier efforts to push himself upright.

"… Are you sure, Satoru-niichan?" Shiki asks, faintly skeptical. Far be it for her to question her cousin who is the older and more experienced sorcerer between the two –three, technically, also counting Megumi-san– of them. But all the same, "Is this sort of sparring really useful?"

'This sort of sparring' being Shiki repeatedly knocking the boy down in a series of decidedly one-sided spars. True, Shiki had also had her training quite literally beaten into her by Kiyohira-sensei in the early days, but somehow it doesn't seem like the same method was working for Megumi-san. Should she be striking him harder? Or maybe it was a case of different methods of training being effective for different people?

It had been rather surprising, when the boy himself suddenly expressed a fierce interest in training and learning to fight after their return to the Gojo clan grounds. Despite possessing the Ten Shadows, previously Megumi-san had never seemed to be particularly interested in working on or developing his inherited technique. And with Satoru-niichan being quite busy with various clan matters, there had been no one to actively assume the role of an instructor for the boy, either. After all, no elder was about to overstep themselves and interfere with Megumi-san when Satoru-niichan had gone as far as assuming headship over the Gojo Clan for the boy –nominally, at least.

… At the same time, perhaps it's really not so surprising, Megumi-san's sudden determination to become stronger. The sorcerers that they'd run into, during their experience at the festival during Obon… and that encounter with Naoya-san in particular. It had most likely lit a sense of urgency in Megumi-san, hence the boy's renewed focus on developing the skills of a sorcerer.

There's nothing like a sense of pressing danger and absolute necessity to spur someone into taking initiative.

… Which somehow meant that Shiki had been happily dragged into Megumi-san's training as a sparring partner by Satoru-niichan.

It's…

Interesting, in a manner of speaking.

Shiki's only real experience with fighting human opponents comes from her carefully-regulated spars with Kiyohira-sensei –most of which happen to be spars involving blades, rather than hand-to-hand sparring. Moreover, considering the significant discrepancy between Shiki's and Kiyohira-sensei's respective statures, it makes sense that Satoru-niichan wants her to try sparring with Megumi-san instead. Although Shiki is still very much taller than Megumi-san, the height discrepancy between a nine year old and a six year old is much less than that of a nine year old and a…

… how old is Kiyohira-sensei, come to think of it?

"I get why you'd be concerned, Shiki, but trust me when I say that this sparring will be useful," Satoru-niichan's voice sounds from the side, and Shiki reels in her wayward thoughts. "It'll be good for helping Megumi learn how to move and react in a fight, even if it doesn't seem like he's learning much right now. And as for you –well, you've probably already figured it out on your own at this point. Besides, you really haven't been getting much experience with hand-to-hand so far, have you?"

Shiki shakes her head in the negative.

"Hmm, I figured as much. Given how your abilities work, it's probably not something that's quite as pressing for you to focus on. But, it's definitely still worth keeping yourself sharp," her cousin tells her. "What if you get disarmed in a fight? Also, it'll be a good way to purposely throw people off guard if you ever need to –imagine if you're fighting a curse user who thinks they're in the clear since they don't see a blade on you, then bam!"

His hands clap together with resounding finality.

The words make sense, though.

Shiki settles herself into a loose stance as Megumi-san finally hauls himself to his feet again, and readies herself for round six. The boy himself looks a little winded, but no less determined as he raises his fists –and launches himself at her.

Sparring is an activity that Shiki knows she needs to be extremely careful with. It's something that she's always intensely aware and acutely self-conscious about. Kiyohira-sensei has repeatedly emphasized this to her before, and it's something that she can agree with: Shiki's technique is one with precisely zero room for error. It's not as if she can 'uncut' someone's lines, so that means she has to be very careful about the lines that she does cut.

… Granted, it's not something that's currently a pressing concern at the moment, given that Shiki is not holding a blade or sharp, pointed edge of any sort. Kiyohira-sensei had also insisted on Shiki putting on a pair of thick leather gloves before agreeing to allow her to spar with Megumi-san under Satoru-niichan's supervision.

The gloves are rather bulky and unwieldy, but Shiki can't blame her teacher for wanting to err on the side of caution. There had once been a prior instance of Shiki instinctively attempting to grab onto Kiyohira-sensei's forearm upon being knocked off-balance. But instead her fingers slipped and raked down–

It had been a very good thing that Kiyohira-sensei had been wearing armguards that day, to say the least. Likely the entire reason why he'd been religiously wearing them in the first place…

Shiki turns her body slightly to avoid Megumi-san's shaky punch. Tilts her head to avoid another wild lunge, then grabs the back of the boy's collar. Between the sharp yank and abruptly having his feet kicked out from underneath him, Megumi-san yelps and tumbles down unceremoniously again.

"And that's round six!"

The boy lets out a pained groan, rolling over onto his back. He lies there for a moment, catching his breath, before laboriously hauling himself upright with dogged determination once more.

"I can do this," the boy mutters to himself under his breath.

"That's the spirit, Megumi!" Satoru-niichan cheers brightly from the side. "Try and see if you can't get at least one good hit in!"

… Given the clear difference between their respective skills and experiences, that's not looking particularly likely today, especially with how their spars have been going so far. The current gap between Shiki and Megumi-san isn't the sort that can be closed in a single training session, but Megumi-san has potential, certainly –that's the entire reason why Satoru-niichan has gone to all this trouble for the boy in the first place.

If Shiki recalls her history lessons correctly… there had been a particular incident during the Keicho Period, one that cemented the bad blood between the Gojo and Zenin Clans. The conflict had culminated in a fight where the clan heads of the Gojo and Zenin clans killed each other in a spectacularly public clash before the aristocracy. At the time, the head of the Gojo Clan had been a man who possessed both the Six Eyes and Limitless, while the head of the Zenin Clan had been a Ten Shadows user.

Which implied that the Ten Shadows was a cursed technique that had the potential to be as powerful as the combined might of Six Eyes and Limitless.

… Despite the tales, it was still a little hard to imagine in this moment, looking at Megumi-san like this. The bedraggled boy definitely looks to have come out on the rougher end of their continuous 'sparring' with each other.

Ten Shadows is a cursed technique that revolves around summoning shikigami to fight for the sorcerer. As far as Shiki knows, most shikigami users tend to prefer being ranged fighters who distance themselves from their fights, leaving the up and close battles to their shikigami. That Satoru-niichan seems insistent on training Megumi-san to be able to hold his own in close range appears rather counterintuitive at a glance, but Shiki recalls the way that Geto-san had fought, and…

Strictly speaking, Geto-san is not a shikigami user. However, the ability to manipulate and control cursed spirits was one that made him fairly similar to a shikigami user in practice, except Geto-san was extremely skilled in close-quarters combat as well. Shiki remembers seeing him go toe-to-toe with Satoru-niichan in friendly spars with each other before, prior to the other boy's decision to up and become a curse user for some reason.

So, maybe Satoru-niichan was drawing from Geto-san's example, in how he was going about with Megumi-san's training? Despite being a curse user now, Geto-san was a powerful sorcerer. One of the only three Special Grade sorcerers in this day and age, even.

Did Satoru-niichan look at Megumi-san and see someone capable of becoming a Special Grade sorcerer in the future, too?

… Only time would tell, Shiki supposes.

The little girl flips the boy over her back and summarily throws him into the ground. She doesn't add a kick to the ribs while he is down –Kiyohira-sensei might've done it, but Shiki is not Kiyohira-sensei, and she doesn't think that it's necessary. Yet, anyways.

"Round seven to Shiki! C'mon, let's pick up the pace!"

"How are you feeling?" Ignoring her cousin for a moment, Shiki leans over and peers down at the younger boy. "… Do you need a break?"

Megumi-san shakes his head roughly, stubbornly. "No. I can keep going!"

The boy is looking rather decidedly disheveled, with a few discolorations decorating his body from the bruises he'd gotten. Shiki, on the other hand, doesn't have so much as a single hair out of place… but that's not really a fair comparison to make. Megumi-san has only just started taking his training seriously, after all, and he has a lot to learn ahead of him.

He'll get there someday.

… Shiki, too.

(Yes, her too. The little girl knows perfectly well that she still has a long way to go, in order to gain the strength that she needs.)

She extends her hand to the dark-haired boy. "Ready?"

The boy stares at her hand for a moment, then nods firmly and reaches up to take it.

Shiki easily pulls him to his feet.

.

.

Things settle into a balance of sorts, between Satoru-niichan and the clan elders following the events of Obon. Shiki isn't entirely clear about the details, but evidently the elders have finally reached the inevitable conclusion that public humiliation is not the way to go about undermining Satoru-niichan's authority. Why they persistently insist on setting themselves at odds against Satoru-niichan is beyond her –even if Satoru-niichan doesn't agree with their ideals, nor is someone whom they can control, he's still a Special Grade sorcerer who's also their clan head. Surely there are easier ways for someone to drive themselves into an early grave?

The elders revere Gojo Satoru for his power, and fear him in equal measure. Shiki has no idea how they still don't see it; Satoru-niichan is many things, but he's not actively murderous… not without reason, at least. And at this rate, it seems like they'll be handing him many reasons on a silver platter.

… So many Gojo clansmen are rooted in their ways and unwilling to change. Is it simply because of the fear of change, or is it the fear to change?

The difference is subtle, but it's a very distinct one nonetheless.

"You say that Ima has changed?"

Satoru-niichan's voice is decidedly neutral. On her part, Shiki feels rather dubious on the subject, especially knowing what she does regarding the woman's personality. But it's been years since Shiki has talked with Gojo Ima –three years, to be exact, ever since that disastrous outing to the Kamo Clan– so it's entirely possible that Ima-san really has changed, since the days that Shiki had lived with her. Even if she personally happens to find it unlikely.

Still, it's not like Jihei-san to lie, not for something like this.

The brown-haired sorcerer leans back with a sigh. "Yes. I looked into her, as you requested. Ever since that incident with the Kamo Clan, Ima has fallen out of favor with Daisaku-sama. And with Shiki removed from her custody, there was no reason for any of the other elders to involve themselves with her afterwards, either. Without Shiki, there's honestly not much that the Tobiume branch family can lay claim to."

"Which is why the opportunity to ingratiate herself with Shiki is one that Ima would be a fool to miss, no?"

"That is the case, but…" Jihei-san shakes his head, hand raised to cover his mouth in vague consternation. "The only interaction Shiki has had with Ima was that day at the clan meeting when you… deposed Hisayasu-sama. If her goal was rebuilding relations with Shiki, then she should've taken advantage of it and reached out to Shiki again. Either once the meeting concluded, or sometime during the aftermath… but she didn't. She hasn't made any move to contact Shiki after Obon, either."

"Not even after Shiki's little display?" Satoru-niichan hums lightly. "… Interesting. Are you sure it's not a purposeful move on her part for something else? What's her angle?"

"I've talked to her. She doesn't…" Jihei-san hesitates. Then, carefully, "Ima has always cared a lot about the Tobiume branch family, to the point of overlooking everything else around her. But from what I observed, she appears to be genuinely regretful in this instance, and would very much like to make amends with Shiki without pressuring or putting too much of a burden on her niece."

Satoru-niichan and Shiki exchange brief glances, twin looks of confusion mirrored in their expressions.

'Pressure' or 'burden?' What sort of pressure or burden could Gojo Ima possibly exert on Shiki? There's absolutely nothing that Ima-san could do to force Shiki into any sort of compliance.

"… Never mind that," the older sorcerer sighs, an oddly heavy sound. "It's… unimportant, I suppose. Simply put, my conclusion is that Gojo Ima shouldn't cause Shiki any trouble, even if she decides to continue avoiding her."

The little girl blinks, even more confused by that statement. "I'm not avoiding Ima-san."

"No?" Jihei-san raises an eyebrow. "Then what do you call steering well clear of the Tobiume and abstaining from any contact with your aunt for three years? Granted, it's not like I don't understand. Ima made many mistakes when it came to you, but… regardless of Daisaku-sama's initial orders, if you really wanted to see her again, he would've ultimately conceded to your wishes."

The latter comment was most likely true, had Shiki truly been attached to Ima-san to the point that she would still want to see her despite everything that had occurred. "Kiyohira-sensei lives at the edge of the clan compound. I wasn't avoiding the Tobiume any more than any other branch family. As for Ima-san…"

… Despite how Gojo Ima had been the first one to give her support to Satoru-niichan after Shiki during that fateful clan meeting, Shiki's opinions on her aunt by blood haven't really changed. The memories are dulled by time, but she still remembers Ima-san as a cold woman who cared for nothing but using Shiki to further her own ends –even if those ends were allegedly for the sole benefit of the Tobiume line.

"What about Ima, then?"

Shiki shrugs at the man's cautious tone. "I think you're misunderstanding something here, Jihei-san. I don't hate her, or anything of the sort. I just… don't particularly care for Ima-san, that's all."

Jihei-san blinks disconcertedly, then frowns in confusion. "So you're not purposefully avoiding her?"

"Why would I?" Shiki responds candidly. "That would require me to care enough to want to actively avoid her in the first place, and I really don't."

Is that cold of her to say? Callous? … Ima-san is her close relative by blood, except Shiki finds herself completely indifferent to the woman all the same. To Shiki, Gojo Ima is no different from any other member of the Gojo Clan, and she doesn't foresee that changing anytime soon.

"… I see." Jihei-san rubs at his forehead. "That's… more or less in line with what I suspected, I suppose."

Satoru-niichan rests his chin in the palm of his hand. "If you already knew how Shiki felt about Gojo Ima, then what's with all the questions?"

"Well, I had to make sure," the man spreads his hands helplessly. "Ima, for one, certainly seemed to be under the impression that Shiki was avoiding her on purpose."

The white-haired young man snorts, "Seems to me that Ima is way too full of herself."

"I understand why it might appear that way to you, but it's actually a rather reasonable conclusion for her to come to, from her perspective," Jihei-san sighs. "Well. At least I'll know what to tell her, next time I see her. She'll be glad to know that Shiki doesn't actually hate her, although I don't know if that would end up giving her false hope…"

"'False hope?' For what?"

"For being able to build a good relationship with Shiki again."

The little girl blinks owlishly. 'Again' implied that there had once been an amicable relationship between them in the first place, of which there most certainly hadn't been. Satoru-niichan shoots her a skeptical look and Shiki gives a short shake of her head in response, which is really all the explanation that's necessary here.

"Moving along, though," Jihei-san leans back in his seat, folding his hands in front of himself. "Aside from Gojo Ima, I've also finished looking into the sorcerers that you asked me to, Satoru-sama. The unknown sorcerers that you mentioned Shiki encountered during Obon."

Oh. Shiki sits up a little straighter, her curiosity ensnared by the new line of conversation.

Satoru-niichan whistles, "That was fast."

"Yes, well, I figured that it would be for the best that we don't leave loose ends lying around too long." Jihei-san gives a light cough, clearing his throat.

Her cousin nods. "So, the results?"

"The man was the one I found first. His name is Araya Souren, and he's one of the Kamo Clan's out-clan vassals," the man answers without preamble. "It seems like he came into the Kamo's service roughly four years ago, and he's currently their leading authority on hojutsu."

Hojutsu?

Shiki blinks in mild surprise. That was… unexpected.

"Huh," Satoru-niichan hums, contemplative. "That dying art?"

"He's one of the last practitioners," Jihei-san confirms.

Hojutsu was literally defined as 'mystical art.' Unlike jujutsu, which included all arts of sorcery and related techniques that utilized cursed energy as a power source, hojutsu spells and techniques could only be activated by positive energy.

Which meant there was a dearth of hojutsu users, quite understandably.

Positive energy was a unique form of energy that could only be generated through an abstract inversion of cursed energy. This was a lot easier said than done. The way that Satoru-niichan had put it, the process involved something about multiplying 'negative' and 'negative' to get a 'positive' result… but that was math, not cursed energy!

In theory, regular cursed energy was a 'negative' energy since it was largely born of negative emotions and possessed destructive properties. However, that was most emphatically not the same 'negative' as in mathematics, and Shiki has no idea why Satoru-niichan would even try to explain it that way in the first place.

… Maybe because some of his Limitless techniques could be explained through math?

Regardless, on the topic of positive energy itself –those who were able to utilize their cursed energy in the first place were already few and far between, and sorcerers capable of converting their cursed energy into positive energy numbered even fewer. Supposedly, there was even something that was also different about the positive energy used in hojutsu compared to the positive energy used in performing reverse cursed technique. Shiki doesn't know much more than the cursory details about that, though.

After all, hojutsu was a dying art. Traditionally, it was practiced by monks hidden away in temples, who would follow through the motions and use it as a meditation focus of sorts, rather than an actual form of combating curses. But if the historical records were to be believed, there had also once been a period of time almost three hundred years ago, during the Tokugawa shogunate, when a skilled monk had walked the lands exorcising curses using hojutsu.

… Which would explain the Kamo Clan's interest behind acquiring a traditional hojutsu practitioner, if Araya Souren's skills were the real thing. And if Araya had been accepted into the Kamo Clan's fold for his merits in hojutsu, then that implied a certain degree of skill and capability.

"A rare hojutsu user… well, that explains why the Kamo Clan would be interested in him, at least," Satoru-niichan slings an arm over the back of his chair. "But it still doesn't explain why he was at the festival with… who's the other person that was there again? What's their name…"

"The woman was harder to find," Jihei-san picks up. "'A line of stitches across the head' is certainly a very distinctive feature, but surprisingly enough, I actually couldn't find any matches from that end. Fortunately, there was a Window who noticed Araya-san with her at the festival. He was the one to help me identify her, in the end."

The older sorcerer rummages around in a nearby folder and brings out a photograph of a familiar-looking dark-haired woman.

"Is she the one you saw?" he asks.

"… Yes," Shiki confirms after a slight pause. There's no mistaking those features, that's not the reason behind her initial hesitation. Shiki instantly recognizes the woman in the grainy image as the strange sorcerer who'd sat herself down beside her that night. But for some reason, it's…

It's hard to say. The woman's bangs are brushed back in this photo, revealing an unmarred forehead clear of any stitches or scars. Furthermore, her expression is something… open, in a way that's completely different from the manner she had conducted herself in at the festival. It's a subtle but distinct difference, one that almost makes Shiki think that they look like two completely different people, for a split second.

… It's just a photo. Surely Shiki is just overthinking things here.

"There we have it, then. That's Watanabe Kaori," Jihei-san taps his fingers against the photograph. "Except… Watanabe-san was recorded dead six years ago."

Dead?

Wait, the woman was dead? But that couldn't possibly be right! Shiki had seen her with her own eyes, and she can confirm that Watanabe Kaori is most certainly not dead as Jihei-san's dossier states.

"Huh." Satoru-niichan also leans forward, squinting at the photo of the smiling, not-deceased woman. "Someone needs their file updated, clearly."

"There are only two possibilities, in this situation," Jihei-san folds his arms, "Either Watanabe faked her death and has been alive this entire time… or whatever it was that Shiki encountered at the festival was not Watanabe."

Well, that's certainly an unsettling thought.

The white-haired young man raises his head and lifts a brow skeptically at the older sorcerer. "… You mean like a possessor-type curse? Don't you think Shiki would've noticed that?"

"It's not a curse," Shiki promptly shakes her head. "Watanabe's lines were red. A cursed spirit possessing another person adds black-purple lines to the human host; I've seen them before, during missions. I think… there might be something about her stitches? Since she had more lines concentrated around her head, but…"

The little girl shrugs helplessly. There's no use speculating about it like this –Shiki has never met nor seen Watanabe Kaori prior to her 'death' and their subsequent encounter during Obon, so she has no actual frame of reference for anything. It would be one thing if Shiki knew what Watanabe's lines looked like before her supposed death, but six years ago when the woman 'died,' Shiki had only been three. Three years old, and blessedly oblivious to anything even tangentially curse-related.

"A cursed technique, then? Maybe a shape-shifting technique?" Satoru-niichan muses aloud, then shakes his head. "We're getting off-track. Regardless of whether or not this person is truly Watanabe Kaori, she still approached Shiki during Obon. Why?"

There are many reasons why a sorcerer might want to approach Gojo Shiki –the most innocent and harmless explanation being simple curiosity towards the Gojo Clan's 'blessed child.' However, Shiki highly doubts that had been the reason why Watanabe decided to sit down beside her during Obon, given the way her instincts had bristled at the woman's presence.

Or Not-Watanabe, as the ambivalent case may be.

… Why did the woman approach her? Their meeting might've seemed coincidental, but she had known who Shiki was. And prior to the okuribi ceremony, Shiki had not made any 'public' appearances in the eyes of jujutsu society. To instantly recognize her despite the festival fox-mask, when the Zenin clan heir had failed to do so…

Despite the suspicious undertone to it all, the woman hadn't actually done anything to Shiki. Nothing aside from making a bit of casual conversation. The only notable action that stood out during their entire encounter was how the woman had reached out her hand towards Shiki at the very end, but Araya had arrived and interceded then. If the man hadn't stopped her… what had she been intending to do?

Come to think of it, why had Araya stopped her in the first place, if the two were truly friendly acquaintances with each other? Or… working acquaintances at the very least, going by the words that they'd briefly exchanged. Was Watanabe working for the Kamo Clan, too?

… There's something about this entire situation that still seems off to Shiki's instincts, even if she can't quite put her finger on just what is 'off,' exactly.

"We don't have enough information," Jihei-san surmises with a sigh. "I'll keep looking and see what I can do on my end. Watanabe's trail is harder to pick up, but Araya should be a lot easier to keep track of, given his affiliations with the Kamo."

"You do that," Satoru-niichan nods. "In the best case scenario, we're just overthinking things and there's actually nothing to worry about. But between a pawn of the Kamo Clan and a sorcerer who faked their own death… something tells me that there's more to this lurking beneath the surface."

"Most likely," the older sorcerer agrees. "It shouldn't be too hard to get ahold of Araya, at the very least. I, for one, find it quite unlikely that the Kamo Clan would reject a request from the Gojo Clan to arrange a meeting with their hojutsu expert. I will be able to question him then. Hopefully, he'll be able to shed a little more light on Watanabe for us."

"Or alternatively, it could also turn out that this is another of the Kamo Clan's plots. I wouldn't be surprised," Satoru-niichan stretches. "At any rate, there's no point in just sitting around and making random guesses. I'll be leaving the investigation to you then, Jihei!"

"Who else would you leave it to? Kiyohira-san?" Jihei-san asks dryly, then shakes his head. "I understand. It's best to be cautious, regarding such things."

"Precisely," Satoru-niichan agrees. Then slings an arm around Shiki, dragging her over to his side. A cushion is knocked off the couch, falling onto the ground during the process. Her older cousin purposefully ignores her vague attempt to pick it up again.

"So! With all of that over and done with for the moment," he starts brightly. "I've got a question for you, dearest little cousin of mine. Tell me, what do you think about the Fushiguro kids?"

Shiki pauses and tilts her head, blinking blue eyes up from where she's firmly ensnared under Satoru-niichan's arm. "… They're nice."

Yes. The Fushiguro children are nice. Sunny, outspoken Tsumiki-san and quiet Megumi-san both.

(Shiki, on the other hand, is most decidedly not.)

"Nice." Satoru-niichan repeats the word, rolling it around on his tongue. "Hmm… I see. They're certainly cute kids, aren't they? Do you like having them around?"

Across from them, Jihei-san raises his head warily. "Satoru-sama, are you implying–?"

"Shhh," The white-haired young man raises a finger in front of his lips in a shushing gesture and smiles slyly, just a touch sharp. "Well. I have been getting many questions from various interested parties who are all ve-ry interested in how we'll be taking care of the Fushiguro children. I even have a proposal from Takatomi for them to be fostered by his family! Of course, I doubt he expects me to approve his request, but I have several dozen such requests sitting in my office. They'll make for good kindling, at any rate."

Jihei-san gets a pained look on his face, but determinedly ignores the latter comment about 'kindling.' "I… suppose that the Zenins are being rather insistent as well?"

"Oh, the Zenins know that Megumi and his sister are off-limits," Satoru-niichan waves a hand lazily. "I've made that clear. They needed a reminder, anyways, going by Naoya's behavior during Obon… But you're not wrong that they've been protesting against the Fushiguro kids being raised in the Gojo Clan."

Because even though Satoru-niichan had made it perfectly clear that the Gojo Clan was most certainly not adopting either of the children, being raised within the Gojo Clan compound with the clan's own children still appeared to strike a lot of nerves. The elders within the Gojo Clan would most certainly approve of this, although Shiki highly doubted that Satoru-niichan would let any of them dig their gnarled claws into the Fushiguro siblings the way they wanted to.

Still, "Why did you ask me what I thought of them?"

Satoru-niichan glances down at her with a raised brow. "Why wouldn't I? I mean, I was thinking about moving the Fushiguro kids out to a separate place just to get both the Gojo and Zenin elders to collectively shut up, but… if you like them, then I'll make some extra arrangements to keep them around. It's not a big deal."

The little girl stares up at her cousin, wide-eyed. The details of the clan politics and power plays might be lost on her, but she knows enough to be aware that keeping the Fushiguro children with the Gojo Clan like this is most certainly not as insignificant and inconsequential a situation as her cousin is painting it out to be.

"I don't want to make things difficult for you," she tells him, completely truthful. She's seen how Satoru-niichan has become exponentially busier and more stressed as clan head. It doesn't help that he'd never really wanted the position in the first place, and the elders' stubborn noncompliance only makes things worse. "Even if Tsumiki-san and Megumi-san won't be living inside the Gojo estate anymore, I could always go visit them."

"Ha! You could never make things more difficult for me." Satoru-niichan smiles and ruffles her hair. "You already ask for so little –it makes me want to give you everything, don't you know? When will you learn to ask your Toru-nii for things that you want?"

His words are light and teasing as he pokes her affectionately in the cheek. But somehow, she still gets the impression that there's something unequivocally serious to his words, in this moment.

Most of what Shiki wants aren't things that can be given. But… she appreciates the sentiment, all the same.

Wordlessly, stricken by some swelling emotion in her chest that she can't quite name, Shiki gives in to the impulse to reach up and hug Satoru-niichan. There is no invisible barrier from Limitless that stops her as she leans in and closely tucks herself against her cousin, hiding her face in the folds of his shirt.

After a slight beat, long arms reach back and carefully return the gesture.